Koh Tao Backpackers Hostel Reviews

Reviews & Ratings Explained

64%

Rating

379 Total Reviews

57%Value For Money

68%Security

84%Location

75%Staff

59%Atmosphere

53%Cleanliness

49%Facilities

The rating percentage is calculated from customers who booked within the last 12 months.

All ratings and reviews are based on the feedback and opinions of the customers who submitted them and do not express the opinions of Hostelworld.com. This way, you get an up-to-the-minute opinion of just how good a hostel really is. Read our review guidelines »

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57%

The place is not too bad. True, one of the toilets stinks, but u can avoid it by using the other two. The rooms are very small for 8 beds and the floor is crammed with bags. But it's cheap, the mattress isn't bad, it's cleanish, has hot water and that was enough for me.

Feels like a prison! Beds are not that bad.,. Some fedders in the back never hurt right !? The staff is very nice soooo funny, we was suppose to stay 5 night but the smell of moul and urin we culdent Handel it... Yeah so if you will stay in a shity smelling hostel you're welcome ! You can spend this money on another hostel! DONT STAY HERE!

Horrible. Zero security, people can just walk into your room. Power goes out all the time, beds are very old and nothing is clean. Left after one night, can get soooo much better rooms for the same price!

How odd as unless you leave the door to the room open you have to use a key to open the door to get into the room, so it sounds like those people who were just walking into your room were actually staying in your dorm too, there weren't 7 of them by any chance? The power doesn't go out all of the time, just when there are power cuts on the island, sorry we can't control that, although we do switch the power over to the private electricity when there are power cuts.

54%

Standard of facilities is quite low, with smelly and small rooms, very poor and restricted wifi and just 2 plug points for 8 people in a room. Shower rooms and toilets were also dirty with no locks. 2 groups of people left in front of us after paying due to poor and dirty facilities. Not recommended as you can get private rooms for 2 for the same amount at much better places along the beach.

Hmmm are you sure that the 2 groups didn't just leave after paying as they paid as they were checking out, think back didn't you have that same option... Showers and toilets with no locks, ah you mean other than the ones in the door handles? I take it you are unfamiliar with the pop locks they have here then?
Yes you can get a fan bungalow for 800 baht along the beach, remember though you were paying peak season rate as you were here between Christmas & New Year.

43%

By far the worst hostel I've ever stayed in. I checked in and then checked out without staying in the bed. When I got to my room it smelt and the bed sheets had signs of bed bugs and holes in them which were repaired using duck tape?? The beds were in really bad condition and the overall state of the hostel is dirty. The location is good but the staff were very unhelpful and aggressive. This is the first bad review I've left on a hostel but this one deserves it entirely. Stay well away.

Hold on don't you mean the worst hostel you never stayed in? Yes you had to pay for the first night of your booking as you moved out after you went to stay with your friends, after you'd met them you made up a bunch of crap to try and get a refund but as you'd checked in 3 hours previously er no. Bed Bugs and duct tape on the sheets, odd to have those on them when they'd just come back from the laundry before they were handed to you, no? Yes you were charged for the first night as per T & C's

49%

I was due to stay for 4 nights and checked out after 1 night.
I knew they were doing works to improve the facilities but I was woken at 8am by noise from the floor above where they were doing the work! Staff were very average at best! Rooms were dark, dingy and dirty. I've been travelling for 3 months and this is by far the worst hostel I've stayed in!

Sorry yes again the builders seemed to not understand the difference between 10am and 8am, so that is now 3 times they've done that which is definitely not cool. This customer was actually only due to stay 2 nights as they changed their booking from 4 nights to 2 before they arrived as they were unable to get a ferry over to the island. Not sure how they could tell the room was dirty if it was so dark and dingy though, obviously must have been bright enough to see it was dirty?

89%

If your looking for cheap accommodation right in the middle of everything you've found it!! We loved it here!! 5mins away from beach front with all the bars! Great dorm rooms and staff very helpful!! Will be returning!!

The staff was uneven. Some were friendly, some not at all. The worst thing about this hostel is all the facilities... Everything seems like it was abandoned 20 years ago. The rooms are small without proper windows, a bit smelly, and the bunk beds are the worst I've ever seen. Really not worth the price. For 500 bahts you can have aomething way better in a better location.

There is a good chance that you have been speaking to the cleaner and unfortunately she is Burmese and doesn't speak a word of English and so this may explain the 'unfriendlyness', all of the reception staff however do speak English and a friendly. Please bear in mind also this customer stayed in peak season between Christmas & New Year and so yes the price was higher than usual. (It wasn't 500 baht I think he is referring to somewhere he thought up)

49%

Building work as we speak so lots of banging throught the day. Plastic covers on beds and pillows so very noisy when sleeping. Aircon only one setting which if you had bed near it got very cold in the night and blanket hardly to cover you. And MOST OF ALL - BED BUGS.

Yes we do say on the listing and on our own website we are currently building (we're building another floor with the much requested common room), sorry the noise is unavoidable, but at least the builders do only start after 10am. We use to leave the AC remotes in the dorms but we can't do that anymore as 3 of the 4 were stolen and so now we have to keep the last one at the reception. It's odd that you would get bed bugs, this is the reason we have the mattress protectors to protect you.

54%

Thai staff were fantastic. Construction every morning was a bummer. Beds were awful, creaky, metal bunk beds. Pillows encased in protective plastic to ward off bugs- necessary but super uncomfortable. Toilets weren't ever clean, which was a wonder because the "cleaning staff" did clean every day. Same with the showers. Location was great. I did my diving through Big Blue (sorry DJL), which was right down the street. Easy access to the waterfront bars and the beach in the evening. Com area ok.

It is a wonder that the toilets and showers are always being complained about for not being clean when I know the cleaner cleans them a minimum of 3 times each day so I just don't know how this happens as I do know they are clean when they have been through and cleaned them as I've checked myself.

83%

Excellent Central location for all the bars, restaurants, duvey schools etc. There is NO social area though but that just doesn't matter as everyone just sits on the front steps. This hostel is owned by Davy Jones's Locker dive school who's bar/restaurant/hangout is literally 5 seconds walk down the road. Beds are good, air con works but the toilets are a bit stinky and the showers sometimes are only cold and the locks don't always work.. I met great people here and the staff are VERY cool.

Thanks it's nice when people aren't totally negative, glad you had a good stay and hopefully we'll see you again in the future :)

63%

Beds are really old, so squeak and have bad mattresses which one of my party found too difficult to sleep on. There were stains on the floor that looked like blood and after asking for things to be cleaned staff would not do it. Good location, close to beach. Toilets and showers were unpleasant, done didn't close or lock.

The Hostel is a big construction site at the moment, because they're adding a second floor. There is also a lot of noise going on. Nobody mentioned it before I booked the hostel and they were not willing to refund any money. Poor customer service!

As soon as we decided to carry out the building work in September we added a note onto both the hostel website and hostelworld stating that there would be building work going on which would start at 10am each day sorry if you missed that. The end is in site though as our builder has said the work will be completed by the end of January, as they say no gain without pain

Really no blanket? You were given one when you arrived with your bed sheet, pillow case and towel. The pillows aren't plastic, although they do have a pillow protector the same as the mattresses which not only protect the pillows and mattresses but also protects customers from bed bugs, dust mites etc etc.. I'll also point out that this customer booked in to stay 3 times!!! So it was obviously awful then... Some people are just strange.

71%

It was in a great location but there isn't any atmosphere because there's no common area. Also, there was construction going on above the dorms that started really early in the morning that was really annoying. It's still probably your best choice of hostels.

At the moment we are still using the dive school swimming pool and restaurant as our common area until the construction of the 2nd floor is completed (building work starts at 10am and finishes at 5pm, however on one day the builders turned up and started making noise at 8:15am so we told them not to do that again). Once the second floor has been completed there will be an indoor common room on the second floor and a roof garden for people to hang out in.

77%

Staff are very honest I left my iphone when checking out and staff came running out to give it me back thankfully